EXCERPT:
Mercer Stadium is also considered as a possible location for the school. Owned by the city, it is more than an artificial turf field, track and stands, said Farhan Lalji, a New West resident and coach of the NWSS Hyacks football team.
“Mercer seats 1,800 people, it’s a unique venue and it’s a perfect size,” said Lalji. “Every time we play a school at our place, they tell me, ‘God I wish I had a place like your place,’” he said.
But, he argues, Mercer is more than a football venue.
“It’s not like football is more important than a new school—I’m not naive enough to think that. But at the same time, that is a facility that adds to the fabric of our community,” he said.
“Whether it’s Massey Theatre or Mercer Stadium, why do we need to lose one to gain one? I don’t understand that.”
Earlier this week Lalji sent out an email to those involved in football and other sports encouraging them to attend today’s meeting, which runs from 10 a.m. to noon at the NWSS library.
Bill Chu with the Canadians for Reconciliation said his concern is that part of the property identified as the old Chinese cemetery and potter’s field is not protected by the provincial Cemetery Act. There are few burial records for the property.
“There are plenty of people buried there that we don’t know about,” he said. “It would be like digging up Ocean View or Forest Lawn cemeteries.”
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